Studies show that consistent exercise may help prevent migraines just as well as pharmaceuticals or relaxation.

Researchers from Sweden, including a scientist from the Norwegian National Headache Centre, published their randomized, controlled trial in October 2011 in the international headache journal Cephalalgia. The goal of the study was to compare regular exercise to relaxation and the anti-seizure drug topiramate, which has been shown to help prevent migraines.

“In the [preventive] treatment of migraine, topiramate is a drug of first choice,” explained the researchers. In addition, "there is grade-A evidence of the effectiveness of relaxation therapy.”

Researchers cautioned that some previous studies indicated that exercise can be a migraine trigger for some people. But in this study, “exercise was found to be equal to the well-documented methods of relaxation and topiramate with regard to the reduction of migraine frequency,” the researchers concluded.

This study featured 91 adults who were placed into three groups: relaxation, drug and exercisers. The people in the exercise group rode an indoor exercise bike for 40 minutes three times a week. Each session featured a 15-minute warm-up followed by a 20-minute workout and a five-minute cool down.

The researchers explained that exercise may be a viable preventive treatment of migraine, particularly “in patients who do not benefit from or do not want to take daily medication.” This is significant because in 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved updated safety labeling for antiepileptic drugs, including topiramate, due to a potential risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.